Bringing disaster upon yourself by eating these foods before bed
People often think that eating a late night meal before bed will not affect their health much. However, this is not true for many foods.
Chocolate
Some people do not know that chocolate contains a lot of caffeine – a substance that keeps the body awake. If you want to stay up late, instead of sipping a cup of coffee before going to bed, you can try chocolate.
Celery is a diuretic food, to avoid waking up to go to the bathroom at night you should absolutely not eat this food.
Chilli
Chili peppers are loaded with energy, and eating spicy foods at midnight can not only make it difficult to sleep, but can also cause problems with weight control. A study published in the International Journal of Psychology found that spicy foods or peppers can lead to stomach aches and the chemicals can stimulate your senses and keep you awake at night.
Oatmeal
Oats contain melatonin which helps the body to relax, but their high soluble fiber content can have a negative effect on sleep. When consumed before bed, it does not have enough time to digest and can cause indigestion, causing heartburn and belching which can make it difficult to sleep.
Vegetable
Most green leafy vegetables are natural diuretics which can cause frequent urination at night if eaten late before bed. Broccoli, cabbage, beans, cucumbers and garlic are difficult to digest and can produce gas which can make it difficult to sleep.
Red meat and other proteins
Consuming red meat late at night will not be digested in time and will stagnate in your stomach all night, causing difficulty sleeping. Red meat has the ability to prolong your body's natural activity cycle. For this reason, it will be very difficult for you to achieve deep sleep - a state necessary for the body after a hard day's work.
Greasy or fatty foods
Greasy and fatty foods eaten late will prevent the stomach from resting before going to bed.
Cheese
While cheese contains milk softeners, it also contains tyramine, a compound that builds up during fermentation and aging. Tyramine tricks your brain into staying awake even when it’s time to sleep, so say no to cheese before bed.
Alcoholic foods
A glass of wine at midnight may seem like the perfect thing to do. However, alcohol will keep you awake, tossing and turning, making it difficult to fall asleep. Even if you do manage to get some shut-eye, you won’t have enough energy to function the next day.
Dried fruit
Dried fruit can be a great snack, but not before bed. The fiber content and concentration of condensed sugars in dried fruit make it a sleep-deprived food.
Cream
Two things you should avoid before bed are: sugar and fat. Sugar will increase your energy and fat is difficult to digest. Ice cream is a sweet treat that is high in both sugar and fat and you should definitely avoid it before bed.
Pizza
If you have a slice of pizza left in the fridge, save it for lunch. The fat in pizza will not only make you gain weight but will also cause heartburn and other related problems before you fall asleep.
